The much anticipated Nashville Predator debut of forward Sergei Kostitsynoccurred in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Carolina. The enigmatic winger played on a line with Patric Hornqvist and finished minus-1 in 15:09 of ice time.

He and Hornqvist developed some chemistry as the game went on. At the end of the second period, Kostitsyn had a good scoring chance, but was stopped by Carolina goaltender Justin Peters.

“You can see he is a skilled guy, works hard and when he gets some confidence, makes some very good plays,” Hornqvist said. “He is a passer and he can score too. He is good with the puck and he is good without the puck too.”

In Montreal, Kostitsyn played more of a trapping style. Nashville plays a more puck-pursuit game, which has forced him to move his feet more on the ice.

“It is much different than playing in Montreal,” Kostitsyn said. “So it’s a bit tougher in the first game.”